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Bonjour Tristesse

by Françoise Sagan, Diane Johnson (Introduction), Irene Ash (Translator)

3.63 of 5 stars 3.63 · rating details · 6,224 ratings · 434 reviews

Set against the translucent beauty of France in summer, Bonjour Tristesse is a bittersweet tale narrated by Cécile, a seventeen-year-old girl on the brink of womanhood, whose meddling in her father's love life leads to tragic consequences.

Freed from boarding school, Cécile lives in unchecked enjoyment with her youngish, widowed father -- an affectionate rogue, dissolute an...more

Paperback, 160 pages

Published June 17th 2008 by Harper Perennial Modern Classics (first published 1954)

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Aug 16, 2011 Tatiana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Tatiana by: 1001 Must Read List

Shelves: 1001, 2011, classics, why-the-hype, foreign-lands, native

This is why I don't read books written by teenagers. Banal and melodramatic.

A bored, spoiled 17-year old who has a bit of a crush on her playboy daddy hates her soon-to-be-stepmother. Cue never-ending angst, alcohol, scheming, glam life, underage sex, and boredom, boredom, boredom, and voila! - a bestseller and a classic.

Please, somebody, get her to do some chores so that she doesn't stuff her head with rubbish!

I am tired of such tripe being praised because of "but the author was only 17 when s...more

34 likes · like · see review

Mar 28, 2010 Manny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: french, parody-homage, story-review

- Hello. I'm Cécile.

- Manny.

- You as bored with this party as I am?

- How bored are you?

- Very.

- I believe I'm enjoying it slightly more than you.

- Were you often this bored when you were my age?

- How old are you?

- Seventeen.

- Um... I'm trying to remember. I think so.

- So what did you do?

- I read a lot.

- Me too. Anything you'd recommend?

- Category?

- Something for a cynical girl who wants to be a famous author?

- You've read Bonjour Tristesse?

- Uh-uh.

- It might inspire you. She published it ver...more

30 likes · like · see review

Aug 07, 2011 Megha rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews

Being stuck on the runway for three hours with Bonjour Tristesse in hand is no fun, I tell you.

I read this at a time when I had a lot on my plate. I didn't have enough patience to be concerned about the problems of a bunch of vain people who are wealthier than Scrooge McDuck, who spend their days sun-bathing and surfing and whose evenings are dedicated to drinking and dancing.

Yeah, I agree it is well-written for an 18 year old author. But it is also so superficial. It is natural that the 17 year...more

23 likes · like · see review

Jun 15, 2012 Shovelmonkey1 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone with cruel intentions

Recommended to Shovelmonkey1 by: 1001 books list

Shelves: 1001-books, bookcrossing-books, read-in-2011, le-french

So what to say about Cecile and her incessant scheming? Apparently a summer on the Med, smoking and drinking on daddy's dollar (or franc) is not enough for well bred young ladies these days. Where swimming, sunbathing and generally being a bright young thing were once enough, Cecile ups the ante and decides that a more diverting way to spend the summer is to plot the downfall of her fathers current relationship and in between times, try to loose her virginity to the likeable but none too bright...more

20 likes · like · see review

Feb 26, 2010 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: francophiles, bookish teen girls and former bookish teen girls

Shelves: 20th-century-postwar-to-late, fiction, owned, tres-francais, theonewithacrushontheprofessor, woundedsoulsandfragileflowers

A lovely pyschological gem that seems to perfectly depict what it was like to be smart, rich and seventeen years old in 1954. I particularly liked the delicate, exquisite, admirably honest rendering of Cecile's emotions, whether ugly or sweet. I was that age not so very long ago- it isn't hard to remember the truth in what she's saying here.

Should be read in one sitting- with tea on an unhurried Sunday afternoon.

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Sep 20, 2010 Mariel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: daddy! daddy!

Recommended to Mariel by: me! me! me!

Satire doesn't do it for me unless: 1.) it also works as its own story; 2.) says anything that I didn't already know.
I was a silly teenage girl once (I doubt I was ever that vapid, though). I knew lots of silly teenaged girls.
What was satire actually just felt like spending time with a silly teenaged girl. And the point of that would be to what? I have no idea. She's a bimbo French girl with an unhealthy jealousy of her father's new girlfriend. The girlfriend wastes her time trying to make somet...more

4 likes · like · see review

Dec 01, 2007 Alexandra Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: cynical romantics

I found an old copy of this book on the floor of a bar and read it in the midst of a quarter life crisis (I was 24) and a rapidly dissolving summer love affair. I found it was the perfect voice for a story about the pivotal moment we all face when we realize our innocence has died. I could write a thousand reasons as to why I love this book, but they would do it no justice. My favorite book through and through. For anyone who dwells in premature nostalgia.

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Jul 03, 2007 Leah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: francophiles, teenagers, escapists

Shelves: childhood-books

This book will always remind me of the time I read it--I think I was about 14, and it was far and away the most grown up thing I'd read. The style of the prose is very intimate; as such, the main character is very easy to relate to. Sagan does an excellent job transporting you to a very different time and place. This is a quick, enjoyable novella that is great for an airplane ride or a light summery read.

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Nov 23, 2008 Heba Aleem rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

وداعا أيها الحزن
مرحبا أيها الحزن
أنت مسطور فى صفحة السقف
أنت مسطور فى عينى من أحب
إنك لست كلك بؤسا
إن الشفتين الحزينتين تفصحان عنك بإبتسامة

... فمرحبا أيها الحزن

بول ايلوار*

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Dec 26, 2009 Kasia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: je-ne-comprend-pas, neurotic-literary-snoot, 1001-done-with, lovely-covers

"Bonjou, Tristesse" or "Hello, Sadness",is not as sad or depressing as the title suggests.There's no debate whether you should I slash your wrists or put a bullet in your cranium. Nothing like that. It's French riviera, adultery, streaming sun and first kisses. All followed by a cynical, but necessary in my opinion, ending.

The book is mighty short mind you, andthe writing surprisingly mature.Sagan was 18 this was published, did you know? I didn't (not until I was done with the book).

In all my ig...more "Bonjou, Tristesse" or "Hello, Sadness", is not as sad or depressing as the title suggests. There's no debate whether you should I slash your wrists or put a bullet in your cranium. Nothing like that. It's French riviera, adultery, streaming sun and first kisses. All followed by a cynical, but necessary in my opinion, ending.

The book is mighty short mind you, and the writing surprisingly mature. Sagan was 18 this was published, did you know? I didn't (not until I was done with the book).

In all my ignorance, I was under the impression that this was written by an old Nabokov like creep. The lovely detailed descriptions of Côte d'Azur (I almost felt sand in my hair and sun on my face as I read it, and it's snowing over here now), the acute portrayal of a 17yo spoiled girl (in this aspect, I believe Sagan's age was mightily helpful), the in depth analysis of peoples motives and behaviors - that's what must have led me astray. The tantrums, the hatred, the constant scheming, the egoism, the lies, the father worship, the adultery, the avoidance - it was all pointing out to a well aged male writer, not to a young debutante. And the writing was superb, did I mention it yet? Well, ok, dialogs excluded, those felt tad unnatural and lengthy, in my experience simple constructs and short sentences work best in speech, but I'm prepared to blame the nameless translator for that. When in doubt always blame the translator. That's my rule.

Apart from the exquisite imagery, the main strength of Bonjou, Tristesse is the seventeen-year-old Cécile. She considers herself superior, sophisticated and oh so mature. Which, of course, entitles her to meddling in other people's affairs, taking lovers (twice her age would be most appropriate) if only she wishes, and disregarding any advise. Cécile is snooty, temperamental and a typical teenager. But most importantly so much more real that the idolized Bella (for those of you who are keeping up with the Twilight extravaganza).

So why the so-so rating, would you ask. Well, first of all, it's not my favorite book. Tad snooty and never too cheerful with that inherently French ideas of love and adultery, it was hard for me to like. Besiedes, I appreciated what it stood for, I appreciated the talent behind it, but I enjoyed only parts of it. Yet, even though I did not quite love it, I would still recommend it to those with a preference for literary fiction - it's a nice French gem (an overnight sensation back when it was first published) that should not be forgotten. (less)

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May 06, 2013 Audrey Hepburn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everybody

Recommended to Audrey Hepburn by: Mike Lester

Shelves: 2013-5-stars, 2013-awesome-books, 2013-favorites, beautiful, books-translated-into-english, drama-adventure, adults, library-books, my-2013-book-reviews, romance, really-depressing, sad-books, setting-is-on-the-1940-50-and-60s

This book was recommend it to me by a friend in goodreads who said I would enjoy it. And he was certainly right.

My thoughts:

This book is translated from the language French to the language English. I have never read a book by this author. And let me say that I loved , enjoyed, and liked this book. It was a quick, bittersweet, and tragic read but its a really enjoyable book.

What I liked:

- The Title

- The cover.

- The prose.

- Originally written in French. I love anything that has to do with Franc...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Victoria rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, read-in-2012

The first half of this tiny, unassuming book irritated me to no end. It wasn't the scandalous and profound proclamation of sexual freedom that the blurb proclaimed it to be but instead, a petulant, moody teenager's distaste for her prospective new step-mother. I disliked all the characters - Raymond was far from a father figure or the charming and seductive creature that he was supposed to be, Anne was prudish and over-bearing, Elsa imbecilic and Cecile herself a grumpy little girl who couldn't...more The first half of this tiny, unassuming book irritated me to no end. It wasn't the scandalous and profound proclamation of sexual freedom that the blurb proclaimed it to be but instead, a petulant, moody teenager's distaste for her prospective new step-mother. I disliked all the characters - Raymond was far from a father figure or the charming and seductive creature that he was supposed to be, Anne was prudish and over-bearing, Elsa imbecilic and Cecile herself a grumpy little girl who couldn't make up her mind about anything and seemed far from her apparent seventeen years in maturity. As for Cyril, he was so nondescript and banal that he could hardly be considered a character at all. Anne treated Cecile like a mindless child too. I was further infuriated by the glowing reviews that reiterated how fantastic this novella is merely because it was written by a girl of such youth herself (Sagan was 18). I don't see why the age of the author matters - writing is a talent, regardless of age, surely?

Then I put my book down to eat my dinner and when I came back to it, something had changed. Perhaps my full belly had rid me of my 'hanger' (hunger-induced anger) and fury. Or perhaps it was the incessant shooting sounds in the background of my living room adding a certain aura to a suddenly darker and more macabre story (no, the uprising hasn't started but rather, the man in my life has taken to playing Halo with an incessant enthusiasm and drive that is almost enough to make me believe that indeed, the people have started to revolt). As soon as I picked up Bonjour Tristesse for the second time, I was barely able to tear my eyes away from the pages, as Cecile found herself spiralling further and further into despair and deceit. The moody teenager left us and in her wake, remained a scorned and hurt young woman (not completely grown up but not quite so young and petty as she first seemed) - perhaps as a result of her not changing her mind about her 'plan' every other page. The darkness in the second part of the story engrossed me and left me enthralled and grasped in the way that only books can do. Cecile's psychology and motivation suddenly became an interest for me - I wanted to follow her and find out why; she was no longer the child who I wanted to wave away in boredom and disdain. And of course, the tale ended with that promised advocacy of free love and hedonism that I was so hoping for.

So all in all, 'Hello Sadness' left me with mixed feelings. Read at the right time in life, it could be hugely influential. Read at the wrong time, it has the potential to be infuriating and indeed, perhaps a little scandalous. Some may even find it boring. It's one of those books that will change if you read at another time, it will take on different meanings and it will be nothing like that book you remember so fondly from your teenage years. No two groups of people will feel the same about it and I can imagine it causing great debate. It's worth a read but you may have to push past the first 50 pages or so to get to your true feelings about it.

(edited to correct spelling/grammar errors)(less)

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Aug 17, 2012 Mike Lester rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

They say we only want the things we can't have. They also say we only appreciate things and people once they're gone. Well, goddammit, they're right. That's the curse of being human. We're constantly chasing our tails, looking for something better, for that one thing or person that will complete our lives, all while time is passing us by with each ticking tock. Then there are those of us who realize this, those who see the passage of time as an almost tangible thing, and who desperately want to...more

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Jan 28, 2010 K.D. Oliveros rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Tata J and all fathers with teenage daughters

Recommended to K.D. by: 501 Must Read Books and 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Shelves: 1001-core, 501

Bonjour Tristesse (Translation: Hello Darkness) is a story of a 17-year old girl who could not accept that her widowed father is marrying another woman. She connived with her boyfriend and the mistress of his father to prevent the wedding. This resulted to a tragic end.

Simon and Garfunkel's famous 70's song, Sound of Silence was inspired by this novel. Written by Francoise Sagan originally in French when she was just 17 years old, this became an instant hit and translated to several languages. T...more

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Jun 13, 2010 Evan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: __in-my-collection, yearning, 2010-reads, bohemian-rhapsodies

Far lesser tragedies -- and all too often, greater ones -- than the one led up to during the ritzy summer Mediterranean vacation described in Bonjour Tristesse occur constantly because people want to preserve a way of life or gain some advantage in love or power or materialism.

In this book, the young, carefree protagonist, Cecile, fears the loss of a way of life, preferring it to the uncertainty of the future. Perhaps she fears even more the loss of the true love of her life, her father. As long...more Far lesser tragedies -- and all too often, greater ones -- than the one led up to during the ritzy summer Mediterranean vacation described in Bonjour Tristesse occur constantly because people want to preserve a way of life or gain some advantage in love or power or materialism.

In this book, the young, carefree protagonist, Cecile, fears the loss of a way of life, preferring it to the uncertainty of the future. Perhaps she fears even more the loss of the true love of her life, her father. As long his romances are frivolous and non-committal, there is nothing to threaten this dynamic. The potential rival and Cecile's soon-to-be stepmother, Anne, is the interloper about to make good on that threat. Almost guilelessly, and half-disbelieving that her machinations could possibly work, Cecile's plans to preserve the lifestyle of her youth and nip in the bud the authoritarian, moralistic structure promised by Anne prove to be all too successful. And yet, even with Cecile's regret, there is also a relief that is downright amoral.

This is the story of an adolescent, written by an adolescent, expressing as well as any young writer ever has the struggles and mysteries of being a young girl, of a life still to be lived, of an amorphous POV, of how one relates to other people and the world; of trying to find a balance between the responsible and the carefree -- of feeling the powers of youth and its parallel impotencies. Of making the first tentative steps into the mysteries of love. Of holding onto youth and fearing adulthood. Of wanting to be true to oneself while not being sure of oneself.

It's exquisitely expressed and an unconditional pleasure to read.

My Goodreads friends here who have read this and bothered to review it, and who happened to once be 17-year-old girls, have probably gotten at the essence of this better than I could have. I defer to them.

Sagan writes about a milieu she knows, and even though her settings and attitudes are those of the idle rich, this book is far more interesting than most novels that aim to be critiques of the amorality of the wealthy -- mainly because it doesn't overly emphasize those things and because Sagan is more interested in feelings and motivations. This makes the book more universal to me.

The character of Anne in this book strikes me as far more complicated and enigmatic than that presented by actress Deborah Kerr in the 1958 film version. The reader's feelings about her shift as frequently as Cecile's own constant reassessments.

This book is no B.S.; no dicking around; no showing off.
At the end of the day and when all is said and done, and all the goofy, annoying literary experiments have been tried and foisted upon me, I point to Francoise Sagan -- what she did in this debut novel and her second one (A Certain Smile) -- as prime examples of what good, thoughtful writing really is, to me.(less)

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Feb 24, 2013 Arizo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Cecile and her father live a decadent, sorrowless, yet meaningless lifestyle and are perfectly happy with it. When Cecile's father gets involved with a sofisticated woman (Anne), for once of his own age, Cecile frettens that their lives are to change. Cecile adores and idolises Anne, knows that she will bring meaning to their life, yet still cannot bear the thought of restraining her sorrowless character. She acts on the latter, and directs a plot with dire consequenses.

Quite frankly I was upse...more

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Oct 20, 2007 daniela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sagan was only 18 when she wrote this, her first novel. This book remains in a little time capsule of perfection for me.

I read this on a trip to China, specifically Hong Kong and Shanghai. The emotions captured in her words foreshadow the period beyond that summer trip...

"I felt sorry that I had come to it through lies. The day might come when I would love someone passionately, and would have to search warily, gently for the way to reach his heart."

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Dec 08, 2007 Tosh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

She's no doubt a very cool young Parisian writer in the fifties, but for me, doesn't match up with other writers of that generation. But saying that this book was a major social force when it was published. She was either in her late teens or early 20's when she wrote this book. Incredibly photogenic, she has that 'it' quality. Still I felt the novel was a little bit forced in certains aspects.

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 31, 2009 Maria marked it as read-too-long-ago · review of another edition

He borrado seis veces esta reseña, así que aquí va lo esencial: la leí hace más de diez años y no sé si atreverme a releerla, me impactó mucho mucho mucho como sólo impacta el cine de la nouvelle vague a las adolescentes gafapastosas y además me quitó las ganas de fumar.

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Apr 20, 2013 Antonomasia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: france, 2013, forties-and-fifties

Bonjour Tristesse never crossed my path at what may be the best age for reading it (younger than the heroine and younger than the 18-year-old who wrote it); it wasn't in the school or local library and I don't remember it from any lists of classic or cult books I would use as maps for adventures beyond.

At first I had little care for the whole enterprise, not least because no character seemed to have any sincere emotions - something I value a great deal more now that I did in my teens. Only a lit...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 17, 2009 DoctorM rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: brdytw-girls

I'm in love with the book because of...the cover...and photos of Francoise Sagan at 18. But having said that--- it's a lovely, melancholy book about coming-of-age, or at least coming to realise that a bit of one's innocence is gone. There was a film of this with David Niven as the father back c. 1960, and I do wonder how (and with whom) it could be filmed today. In a more cynical, harsh, and over-psychologised world, could it even be filmed with that same feel of summer melancholy? Would "loss o...more

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May 19, 2013 Clodjee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Après avoir visionné tant le film Sagan de Diane Kurys (2008) que le Bonjour Tristesse de Otto Preminger (1958), j'ai eu le goût de remonter aux sources et de lire l'histoire originale. Je n'ai pas lu cette édition récente mais un petit trésor trouvé dans mon sous-sol: une édition toute jaunie datant de 1957 dont la couverture nous précise que la réimpression a déjà atteint le 700e mille!

L'ouvrage débute ainsi: “Sur ce sentiment inconnu dont l'ennui, la douceur m'obsèdent, j'hésite à apposer le...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Carrie Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: yann-stephen-and-me

Yann Martel describes Bonjour Tristesse ( Hello Sadness) as a novel that epitomized its epoche - 1954. The war is over, a new generation has money and the morals are changing within society.

The book itself is a quick paced slim volume that tells the story of a father (Raymond), Elsa his mistress and Anne his subsequent fiancée and his daughter Cecile.

Cecile is 17 and the father and daughter have gone on vacation with his current mistress. Raymond is a widower and has had a long line of women ove...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

One old edition of this book has a blurb on the cover: "THE CLASSIC BESTSELLER ABOUT AMORAL YOUTH ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA!" I'm glad I hadn't read that before reading because I might have expected more unbridled debauchery. (Not to mention more "youth," as there is only one teenager in the whole book.)

I loved this book--this story. When it's December in Portland and the rain is beating against the windows, it's pleasant to read about the sun soaking through to your bones and think about hot coffee...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Moira rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

I guess it is a perfect example of a coming of age novel, but with a dark twist. You do wonder what kind of adult Cecile will be after such a transition. I do suspect that these kind of novels lose of their impact if you read them later in life but there are things to get from it nonetheless. And reading it from the point of view of an "adult" (eew did I just write that), will prick your interest on aspects of the book that might have been overshadowed by the intense prism of a teenager's mind....more I guess it is a perfect example of a coming of age novel, but with a dark twist. You do wonder what kind of adult Cecile will be after such a transition. I do suspect that these kind of novels lose of their impact if you read them later in life but there are things to get from it nonetheless. And reading it from the point of view of an "adult" (eew did I just write that), will prick your interest on aspects of the book that might have been overshadowed by the intense prism of a teenager's mind. I personally saw Cecile from afar whereas I am pretty sure I would have empathised with her had I read Bonjour Tristesse when I was about her age.
17, that's her age in this novel. It's the summer and she plans on spending it with her dad and his mistress, some unimportant chick, in a villa on the French Riviera. Her dad, Raymond, is her life and her model since she lost her mother at a younger age. She explores new feelings and relationships the way he would. Or at least the way she thinks he would, that is without any attachment. Their carefree way of life is in danger when Anne enters in their life. Raymond's fiancee. She's the total opposite of them, she wants rules, organisation and commitment. Cecile is terrified and will do everything she can to try to go back to the way things were. She will play a cruel game, pushed by a feeling of invincibility typical of young adults, she seems unaware that it leaves you one day and the people she's battling with are broken creatures carrying a bag of disappointments, heartbreaks and a short future ahead. A lesson she will learn, the hard way.
It was an interesting read and deserves, in my opinion, the 'classic' label as it has a truly original tone/approach to the coming of age genre. I wish though that I had read it during the warmer months because it made me crave for a holiday in the South of France, I swear I could nearly feel the sun graze on my shoulders. Pure torture.
I am filing Bonjour Tristesse, the film with the beautiful Jean Seberg in my watchlist as I am curious to compare it with the novel (how interesting that the adaptation is American, this book has such a French feeling to it).

earworm + plum pudding (less)

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Sep 17, 2012 Madeline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-list

"That summer, I was seventeen and perfectly happy. ...My father was forty, and had been a widower for fifteen years. He was young for his age, full of vitality and liveliness. When I left my convent school two years before and came to Paris to live with him, I soon realized that he was living with a woman. But I was slower in accepting the fact that his fancy changed every six months! But gradually his charm, my new easy life, and my own disposition, led me to fall in readily with his ways. He w...more "That summer, I was seventeen and perfectly happy. ...My father was forty, and had been a widower for fifteen years. He was young for his age, full of vitality and liveliness. When I left my convent school two years before and came to Paris to live with him, I soon realized that he was living with a woman. But I was slower in accepting the fact that his fancy changed every six months! But gradually his charm, my new easy life, and my own disposition, led me to fall in readily with his ways. He was a frivolous man, clever at business, always curious, quickly bored, and very attractive to women. It was easy for me to love him, for he was kind, generous, gay, and fond of me. I cannot imagine a better or more amusing companion."

This lovely little novel, deceptively slim, made me want to read it while lying on a beach. It's full of rich French people being delightfully and almost stereotypically French at their villa in the Mediterranean, and all the romantic drama and emotional backstabbing that occurs there. The narrator, Cecile, is enjoying her hedonistic lifestyle when her playboy father announces, unexpectedly, that he is getting married. The woman in question is Anne, a family friend who is the opposite of the previous mistresses Cecile's father has had: she's elegant, poised, practical, intelligent, dignified, and forty-two. Cecile recognizes the threat that Anne poses to her carefree life, and decides to destroy the relationship:

"She would gradually turn us into the husband and step-daughter of Anne Larsen, that is to say, she would turn us into two civilized, well-behaved and contented persons. For she would certainly be good to us. How easily - unstable and irresponsible as we were - we would yield to her influence, and be fitted into the attractive framework of her orderly plan of living. She was much too efficient. Already my father was separated from me. I was hurt by his embarrassed face, turning away from me at the table. Tears came to my eyes at the thought of the jokes we used to have together, our gay laughter as we drove home at dawn through the deserted streets of Paris. All that was over. In my turn I would be influenced, readjusted, remodeled by Anne. I would not even mind it, she would handle me with such intelligence, humor, and sweetness. I wouldn't be able to resist her. In six months I should no longer even want to."

In another writer's hands, this story could have gone horribly wrong - Cecile has every opportunity to turn into a spoiled rich brat who can't stand the idea of being forced to behave like an adult with responsibilities, and the way she tries to destroy her father's happiness could be seen as the actions of a borderline-psychotic. The genius of Sagan's book is that she doesn't try to justify Cecile's actions. We see the horrible truth of what Cecile is doing, and so does Cecile. Every few chapters (sometimes every few pages) Cecile will have a moment of clarity, and realize that Anne is a good person and that her father is happy, and she regrets her meddling. But then she goes right back to her destructive plan, because she can't help herself. By letting us see Cecile wrestling with her own conscience, and ultimately being unable to resist her destructive urge, Sagan creates one of the best portrayals of a teenage girl I've ever read.

"Although I did not share my father's intense aversion to ugliness - which often led us to associate with stupid people - I did feel vaguely uncomfortable in the presence of anyone completely devoid of physical charm. Their resignation to the fact that they were unattractive seemed to me somehow indecent. For what are we looking for if not to please? I do not know if the desire to attract others comes from a superabundance of vitality, possessiveness, or the hidden, unspoken need to be reassured."(less)

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Sep 08, 2012 Sandrine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Livre audio lu par Sara Giraudeau.
Présentation de l'éditeur
La villa est magnifique, l'été brûlant, la Méditerranée toute proche. Cécile a dix-sept ans. Elle ne connaît de l'amour que des baisers, des rendez-vous, des lassitudes. Pas pour longtemps. Son père, veuf, est un adepte joyeux des liaisons passagères et sans importance. Ils s'amusent, ils n'ont besoin de personne, ils sont heureux. La visite d'une femme de coeur, intelligente et calme, vient troubler ce délicieux désordre. Comment écarte...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Humphral added it · review of another edition

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This book is from France and is set in the 1950s. It is interesting to me how similar the cultures are in France back then and in America now. The main character is a snobby, rich girl named Cecile. Her main conflict in the novel so far is dealing with her dad's juggling of two women, Anne and Elsa. Both women are staying at Cecile and her father's villa with them over the summer. The interactions between the characters are comical, but to me, the conflict just seems silly.

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May 02, 2012 Literary Relish rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Seventeen year old Cécile is summering down south with her father Raymond; a man who seems to fancy himself as a quasi-bohemian Lothario-type, indulging in what he likes to think of as his 'sinful' ways, with a penchant for girls in their twenties. In short (and I'm sure many of his women feel the same way) an irrepressibly charming figure, although I know it doesn't sound that way. Cécile herself, like most seventeen year olds, is incredibly naive, jealous and thinks herself to be far older and...more Seventeen year old Cécile is summering down south with her father Raymond; a man who seems to fancy himself as a quasi-bohemian Lothario-type, indulging in what he likes to think of as his 'sinful' ways, with a penchant for girls in their twenties. In short (and I'm sure many of his women feel the same way) an irrepressibly charming figure, although I know it doesn't sound that way. Cécile herself, like most seventeen year olds, is incredibly naive, jealous and thinks herself to be far older and more mature than she actually is. The pair are joined by Raymond's completely vacuous, though kindhearted girlfriend Elsa and Cyril, a young man who quickly captures Cécile's heart and overactive imagination.

This rather innocent summer holiday is rapidly punctured by the arrival of Anne Larson, an educated, refined, cultured and rather serious woman, whose appearance on the scene severely disrupts the fine balance that has been established...with tragic consequences.

Although it may seem like an obvious way to describe something, Bonjour Tristesse felt like such a 'complete' novel, despite its brevity. Although I had heard wonderful things, I was still taken aback by how satisfied and moved I felt by the very end. The apparent superficiality of the main characters and their lifestyle acts as the perfect mask to a much deeper, darker realty. Although certain relationships and behaviour, particularly between Anne and Raymond, seemed to have appeared out of the blue at first, I did eventually manage to reconcile myself with the fact that we are being treated to a snapshot of the life of a small family here, with no real knowledge (although we do like to sumise) of what has come before or indeed what will happen afterwards...

The frivolity of Cécile and her father struck me as very tongue in cheek and, as a result, allowed me room to sympathise with them. Anne's intrusive and supercilious behaviour frustrated me as much as it did Cécile, whose 'bratishness' simply didn't! I surprise myself. Perhaps it's because hot French people are almost allowed to be so precocious. I love them for it!

Françoise Sagan was eighteen when she wrote this book. A fact that I am still struggling to fully comprehend. Although it explains the devastatingly honest and accurate teenage character, it still doesn't explain the complex emotions that are explored here and the pure ease with which she writes and with which we, in turn, read. In the wake of reading this book, it is the unconventional father/daughter relationship which really interests me. Is she merely the spoilt child of a wealthy, liberal man with too much time on his hands, or is there something a little more subversive going on? I'd love to know what you all think because Sagan may just be a little too subtle for me on that front...

http://relishreads.blogspot.co.uk/201...(less)

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Apr 30, 2012 Marsha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, literature-fiction, young-adult

This is the tale of a charming little monster and her hedonistic father. Cécile and her father Raymond enjoy a gay, light-hearted, carefree existence. Cécile is tickled at having a father so lively and charming, even at the age of 40. He adores youth, in his daughter and his mistresses. Imagine Cécile’s dismay when her father tells her he’s marrying the cool, rational, level-headed Anne, who Cécile fears will drive an impenetrable wedge between herself and her father and change their happy-go-lu...more

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About Françoise Sagan

Born Françoise Quoirez, she grew up in a French, Catholic, bourgeois family. She was an independent thinker and avid reader as a young girl, and upon failing her examinations for continuing at the Sorbonne, she became a writer.

She went to her family's home in the south of France and wrote her first novel, Bonjour Tristesse, at age 18. She submitted it to Editions Juillard in January 1954 and it...more

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“He lifted me up and held me close against him, my head on his shoulder. At that moment I loved him. In the morning light he was as golden, as soft, as gentle as myself, and he would protect me.” — 25 people liked it

“I found myself both touched and irritated by the discovery that she was vulnerable.” — 22 people liked it

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